Biographies and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Families
Town of Berlin
Ionia County, Michigan

Transcribed by Jeffrey Tooley

Biographies and Biographical Sketches of prominent families from the Town of Berlin, Ionia County, Michigan extracted from the History of Ionia and Montcalm Counties, Michigan, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of their Prominent Men and Pioneers", by John S. Schenck, Philadelphia: D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881

B. W. Backus Biographical Sketch

B. W. Backus, the eighth in a family of ten children, was born in Winfield, Herkimer Co., N. Y., Oct. 11, 1818. When but five years of age he lost his father, and the mother was left with the large family of children dependent upon her. The products of their small farm were not sufficient to support them all, and the elder children sought employment elsewhere. B. W. Backus scarcely knew what home was after he was seven years old, and until he was sixteen found shelter wherever he could. At the age of sixteen he had by his energy and close application fitted himself for teaching, and engaged in that vocation for one year. He then learned the carpenter's trade, and at eighteen found employment thereat in Orleans Co., N. Y. In the spring of 1840 he married Rhoda A. Houseman, of Yates, Orleans Co., N. Y. In 1848 they removed to Michigan, via Erie Canal, Buffalo, and Lake Erie. From Detroit they passed to the interior of the State by rail, stopping for a time with relatives at Albion. He purchased eighty acres of land on section 17, in the township of Orange, Ionia Co., on which three acres had been cleared and a small shanty erected. His entire available means consisted of one hundred and ten dollars, with which a payment must be made upon his place and the necessaries of life procured. Very close calculating was the consequence. The shanty was twelve by twelve feet, and had neither floor nor fireplace. Their first fire was kindled in one corner of the room. During the following year Mr. Backus worked at his trade, thereby bettering his condition. In the next year he was incapacitated for labor by the ague, and, being unable to meet the payment due upon his place, exchanged the latter for forty acres of unimproved land, and later exchanged for twenty acres on section 19 in the same township. Ten acres on the last named place were improved. About one and a half years afterwards he sold out and removed to a forty-acre lot he had purchased on section 12 in Berlin township. This was also unimproved, and Mr. Backus erected a log house and cleared ten acres. In the fall of 1854 they were summoned to New York on account of sickness, and remained in that State four years. Finally returning to Michigan, and having accumulated some money, they traded their forty for eighty acres on section 12, of which about twenty-five acres were improved. In 1869 an additional forty acres was purchased, a commodious farm-house erected, and other improvements made. He had worked upon the farm and at his trade, and preached occasionally, and in 1869 was assigned to the charge of a church at Leoni, Jackson Co. In 1879, Mr. Backus removed to his present residence on section 12. His wife died Sept. 15, 1870, and on the 21st of May, 1871, he married Emily J., daughter of Ira Bartlett. Her death occurred Oct. 31, 1874, and on the 17th of April, 1879, he married Dolly J. Cain, a resident of Barry County. His first wife bore him three children, viz. - Sewell Warren, Odessa Benjamin, and Colorado Parker. Mr. Backus united with the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1838, and has been an influential member thereof, supplying pulpits and aiding in the formation of societies, among them that at East Berlin. His present wife is a member of the same denomination. Mr. Backus is highly esteemed and respected by those who know him, and is a model citizen. [Source: "History of Ionia and Montcalm Counties, Michigan, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of their Prominent Men and Pioneers", by John S. Schenck, Philadelphia: D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881]

Loren Benedict Biographical Sketch

This family traces its ancestry to the settlement of Salem, Mass., and is of English origin. Aaron Benedict, grandfather of the above, was a Presbyterian minister, and continued in the line of his duty until he was seventy years of age. He was also a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was at the side of the lamented Warren at Bunker Hill when it was demonstrated to the satisfaction of in credulous Britons that "Yankees" would fight. He settled after the war in Sangerfield, Oneida Co., N. Y., and died at the age of ninety-three at Harvard, N. Y. His son Aaron married Achsah Foster, and about 1804 located at Attica, N. Y. (then in Genesee County), purchasing eighty acres on Wells' Hill, near the centre of the town. About 1820 he exchanged places with Grove Cooley and removed to Courtland Co., N. Y.

Loren Benedict was the third in a family of ten children, and was born at Attica, N. Y., Sept. 19, 1811. Remaining at home until he had attained his majority, he then worked a short time for monthly wages, and at the age of twenty-three set his face towards Michigan, coming via the Erie Canal to Buffalo, where he took water passage for Detroit. The vessel was wrecked off Erie, Pa., on the night of Nov. 22, 1834, stranding on a sand-bar. The boat was the steamer "Columbus," and had four hundred passengers on board, who were all safely landed in the morning. The remainder of the trip to Detroit was made by Mr. Benedict in a stage. He proceeded to Rochester, Oakland Co., and resided near that place two years, assisting his brother-in-law in making improvements and putting in grain. He was on one occasion lost at night while searching for the cattle, and only knew which way to find home by wetting his finger and holding it up to ascertain the direction of the wind. Feb. 15, 1838, he proceeded to Flat River with a load of pork, and crossed on a skiff to the cabin of Ambrose Spencer. Spent a day in looking at land, and purchased at Cook's Corners, in the township of Otisco, Ionia Co., one hundred and sixty acres. His money was of that uncertain breed known as "wild-cat," and he returned to Pontiac and disposed of it (two hundred dollars) in the purchase of two yokes of oxen. In less than two weeks the said money was worthless. He sold his cattle the following spring, receiving gold in payment, and on foot journeyed to his land in Otisco, erected a cabin, and began improvements. In December he again returned to Pontiac, where on the 1st of January, 1839, he married Paulina Adgate, daughter of Abel and Polly Adgate, and took her to his wilderness home. In 1846 he disposed of his place and removed to his present farm, lying in Berlin and Orange townships, Ionia Co. This purchase had upon it a log house and a frame barn, but little other improvement, and the labor necessarily expended upon it was great. Today it is in excellent condition, and additions have been made until it now consists of four hundred acres, including the residences of his sons George, Abel, Emerson, and Philo. One daughter, Emeline, was also born to Mr. and Mrs. Benedict, and is now Mrs. Henry Sprague, of Easton. Mrs. Benedict died Dec. 7, 1872, and her loss was deeply mourned by her family and a large circle of friends and relatives. Mr. Benedict is a Jefferson Democrat in politics. In his private life he is honest and upright, and those who know him testify to his worth as a friend and neighbor and business man, while the destitute and needy have cause to remember his many acts of kindness and charity towards them. [Source: "History of Ionia and Montcalm Counties, Michigan, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of their Prominent Men and Pioneers", by John S. Schenck, Philadelphia: D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881]

George Hosford Biographical Sketch

This gentleman was born July 11, 1823, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake, in the State of New York. His parents were of German descent, and their circumstances were meagre. The boy became inured to a life of poverty, and at the age of eight years we find him working for his board among farmers, and attending school whenever opportunity presented. His mother gave him into the keeping of one Dr. Swett, with whom he remained until he was fifteen years of age, and then determined to try his fortunes in the West. Accordingly he walked to Buffalo, took passage on the "Constitution," and arrived at Detroit, after a perilous trip, in the last of November, 1838, with fifty cents in his pocket. Starting to reach friends in Ionia, he stopped for a week ten miles west of Detroit, and then proceeded on his way through a country at the best but thinly populated, and often through an almost trackless wilderness. For about three years he worked in the employ of his stepfather, Ezra Winslow, then a resident of this county (Ionia), then at various occupations until the spring of 1845, when he purchased forty acres of land in Easton township, on section 4. He had learned the trade of a mason, and about the last-named date returned to New York, worked at his trade, and attended school for three years. He finally returned to Michigan, bought forty acres of land adjoining his first purchase, cleared five acres, erected a small cabin, and on the 5th of May, 1849, married Harriet J. Abbott, daughter of Gilbert and Charlotte Abbott, of Saranac. In 1859 he journeyed to California via New York, returning in 1860. In 1862 he became indebted for a purchase of eighty-eight and a half acres of land, included in his present home. About ten acres only were cleared, all other improvements and changes having been made since, and he is now enjoying life in a beautiful home. His wife died July 27, 1876, leaving five children - viz., Orvis, born May 25, 1850; Ellen, born Aug. 5, 1852, married Dr. Wilson, of Branchport, N. Y.; Warren, born April 25, 1854, now a resident of Medina Co., Ohio; Numie, born March 12, 1856, now Mrs. Byron Weeden, of Berlin township; Burt, born Dec. 5, 1868. Mr. Hosford and his wife were both members of the Disciples' Church, which they assisted in organizing. The parents of the present Mrs. Hosford were natives of New Jersey, and were named Samuel and Sally Vandoran. The daughter, Anna E., was born in Kalamazoo Co., Mich., Sept. 11, 1837, where her parents were early settlers. When she was nine years of age they returned to New York (Yates County). In 1876 Anna came to Palo, Ionia Co., Mich., on a visit to a brother, and there met Mr. Hosford, to whom she was married Oct. 14, 1876. She had previously been twice married - first to Edwin Besemer, of Port Byron, N. Y., and second to Marvin Harris, of Dresden, N. Y. She is a most estimable lady, and is in possession of the sincere regard of those who know her. [Source: "History of Ionia and Montcalm Counties, Michigan, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of their Prominent Men and Pioneers", by John S. Schenck, Philadelphia: D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881]

William C. Reed Biographical Sketch

William Reed, father of the above, first saw the light of day on ground made memorable in the "long-ago," during the struggle of the colonies for independence. He was born in 1805, near the Bunker Hill battle-ground, in Massachusetts. At the age of twenty he shipped aboard a whaler, and led the life of a sailor a few years. On his return he visited his grandparents, residents of New York, and fell in company with Mr. David Beebe and family, who were preparing to come to Michigan; he came with them and located in Oakland County, where Sarah, one of the daughters of Beebe, taught two terms of school, but in the mean time Mr. Reed married her, she completing her school after marriage. In September, 1836, he removed to Berlin township, Ionia Co., and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 3. On the Sunday following his arrival, with the assistance of four men, he erected a log house on his place. He afterwards purchased two hundred and ten acres additional on section 10, upon which he erected substantial buildings. His death occurred in June, 1873, at the age of sixty-seven years eight months and three days. He was married three times, and his third wife survives him. He was the father of ten children - six by his first wife and four by his second. He was a man who was much respected. He was energetic and industrious, and from having funds barely sufficient to make his first purchase from government he accumulated a handsome property.

William C. Reed, the second in his father's family, was born Jan. 25, 1835. His youth was spent on the home farm, and he occasionally assisted in a mill owned by his father. Sept. 25, 1858, he married Samantha Shilton, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah Shilton, of Orange township, in which (on section 7) they were early settlers. The daughter was born in Raleigh township, Kent Co., Canada West; removed to Michigan, where they arrived April 1, 1819. In 1860, Mr. Reed purchased eighty acres of land on section 10 in Berlin, to which he removed with his wife, occupying a frame dwelling, fourteen by twenty, which he had erected. It was roughly constructed, but served a good purpose. Mrs. Reed died Jan. 3, 1872, leaving her husband and one child (the only survivor of four) to mourn her loss. He subsequently married Miss Mary A. West, daughter of William and Vina West, who was born March 27, 1845, in Kent Co. (township of Raleigh), Canada. Her parents had settled in Orange township, Ionia Co., in 1855, and are still residents thereof. In 1879, Mr. Reed replaced his first home with the finest brick residence in the township. He is the present owner of two hundred acres of land, finely improved, well stocked, and having a tenement-house and three large barns and other outbuildings. Mr. Reed and his first wife united with the Disciples' Church, and his present wife is a member of the Episcopal Church. To each of these ladies is given the great credit due to most excellent and exemplary wives. Mr. Reed's children now living are Clara Belle, by first marriage, born May 31, 1863; Jennie Bird Reed and Berton Lewe Reed, by second marriage, the former born Oct. 7, 1873, and the latter June 16, 1878. Mr. Reed is a man of liberal spirit, and is foremost in all enterprises in the interest of his town. He has contributed much towards religious and benevolent objects, and is highly esteemed for his many manly qualities. He is a member of the Masonic lodge, chapter, and council, and of Berlin Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. He has never sought notoriety in public life, and sickness, caused by heavy labor and exposure early and late, also a hurt, has resulted in weak eyes, which at times makes him nearly blind, the trouble being chronic granulated eyelids and iritis of corona, for which he has been treated at Ann Arbor University, and is now enabled to attend to business, though not able to read newspaper print. [Source: "History of Ionia and Montcalm Counties, Michigan, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of their Prominent Men and Pioneers", by John S. Schenck, Philadelphia: D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881]

Alonzo Sessions Biographical Sketch

Hon. Alonzo Sessions, of Ionia, was born Aug. 4, 1810, in Marcellus, Onondaga Co., N. Y. His grandfather owned and worked a rough, stony farm in Connecticut. He had a family of eleven children, all of whom were obliged to earn their own living. Of these, Amasa Sessions, father of Alonzo, was the eldest child, and at the age of nineteen made his way on foot into the wilderness of Central New York. He had acquired the rudiments of an education, and by teaching and clearing land obtained means to purchase a farm on the east side of Skaneateles Lake. There he remained until near the time of his death, which occurred in 1838. His wife, Phebe Smith, was the youngest daughter of Job Smith, an officer in the Revolutionary army. Her brother, Lewis Smith, was sheriff of Onondaga County and a member of the New York Legislature. She was remarkable for her modest, quiet disposition, love of her home and family, and untiring industry; she had nine children, all of whom survive her. Alonzo Sessions was trained in frugal, industrious habits. He made diligent use of his opportunities for an education, and, after leaving school at Skaneateles, taught at Galen, Wayne Co., and Owasco, Cayuga Co. In 1831 he went to Bennington, where he was engaged two years as clerk in a store. As compensation he received his board and ten dollars per month, from which he saved the first year one hundred dollars. His employer was an able, intelligent business man, who owned an establishment consisting of a store, an ashery, a distillery, a grain-mill, and a saw-mill. In this position he daily learned the value of all kind of commodities, and acquired prompt and accurate methods of doing business. He had constant opportunities to deal with men and women, to study human nature in all its phases, and to weigh the motives which govern human actions. Meanwhile, his leisure was devoted to reading and study. In 1833, Mr. Sessions left his native State and traveled, most of the way on foot, from Detroit to the land-office at White Pigeon, Mich. His route was by the way of Mount Clemens, Romeo, and Pontiac to Farmington. At the latter place he struck the Grand River trail, which crossed the Huron near where Kensington now is, and followed it through the counties of Shiawassee, Clinton, and Ionia to the site of the present city of Ionia. There he found five families, part of them living in unfinished log cabins and the others in Indian wigwams. From Farmington to Ionia his brother and another young man accompanied him. Their food was bread and raw pork, their bed the ground in the open air, excepting one frosty night when they slept in a deserted wigwam which they found on the place now occupied by De Witt. In Shiawassee their trail divided, and after some hesitation they took what proved to be the wrong one, for after crossing a small river it entered a dense forest and ended abruptly in an extensive Indian sugar-bush. After retracing their steps they ventured doubtfully forward and reached Ionia. Here they boarded a Frenchman's batteau and floated down the Grand River to Grand Rapids, stopping over-night with Rix Robinson, an Indian trader at the mouth of Thornapple River. They traveled on foot from Grand Rapids, via Gull Prairie, Kalamazoo, and Three Rivers, to White Pigeon, and camped one night on Bull's Prairie, near Thornapple River. They purchased their land and returned to Detroit by the Chicago road. Mr. Sessions spent the ensuing winter in a store in Tuscarawas Co., Ohio. He afterwards taught at Dayton, Ohio, until 1835, when he purchased two horses and started north for Ionia. One day's travel brought him to a densely-timbered wilderness, which he traversed by the aid of blazed trees until he reached Fort Defiance, on the Maumee River. It rained nearly all of the time; the rivers, creeks, and bayous were swollen to overflowing and could be crossed only by swimming the horses. In this primitive way he crossed the Auglaize three times and the Maumee once. From Fort Defiance he traveled down the Maumee, swimming the creeks and bayous until he was opposite Perrysburg, Ohio. There he found an open road free from mud which led through an unoccupied region to Michigan. He passed Ann Arbor, Jackson, and Marshall, which were then scarcely worth the name of villages. At Saline he was joined by his brother, and they proceeded to Ionia. The way from Bellevue on lay through a dense forest and across two rivers. The journey from Dayton to Ionia occupied sixteen days. Mr. Sessions swam his horses through all the streams, crossed numerous swamps and marshes, and once left his horse in the middle of the stream to recover some article which had dropped from the packhorn and floated away. Yet under all these difficulties he and his brother with their horses reached their destination in safety. Mr. Sessions immediately made himself a home on his land in the wilderness. He built the second log cabin in Berlin, Ionia Co., and the first bridges across the small streams between Ionia and Saranac. He married, in August, 1837, Celia, second daughter of Judge Dexter, the pioneer of Ionia County. They have had thirteen children, seven of whom are living. Mr. Sessions was the first supervisor of Cass (now Berlin), and chairman of the first board of supervisors that met in Ionia County. He was one of the first justices of the peace, and held the position several years. He was sheriff of Ionia County in 1841 and 1842; has since been supervisor eighteen times, and often chairman of the board. His farm, in resources of soil, timber, water, stone, etc., was one of the best in the State. But it was also one of the most difficult to bring under control and cultivation. The amount of labor required was unusual, the results were remote and uncertain; but the work was carried steadily on with courage and confidence, Mr. Sessions directing all and performing much of it with his own hands. He has been able to make the farm support his family, pay all expenses of improvement, and provide something for future use. It has become a good home and a valuable inheritance. Land has been added until it has increased from three hundred and sixty to one thousand acres. Mr. Sessions was elected to the State Legislature in 1856, 1858, and 1860. During his last term of service he was appointed by President Lincoln assessor of internal revenue for the Fourth District of Michigan. He faithfully discharged the duties of the office during four years, when, on his disapproval of President Johnson's "policy," he was removed. Mr. Sessions never did more severe, unpleasant, nor honest work than while in the discharge of his duties as assessor. In order to aid the government to raise funds during the Rebellion, Mr. Sessions and others organized a national bank at Ionia, of which he has been a director since 1863 and president since 1866. He has been president of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company since 1870. Both institutions have increased in strength and prosperity under his administration. In 1872 he was chosen by the Republicans of Michigan one of the Presidential electors, and by them president of the electoral college. In 1876, without any effort on his part, he was made Lieutenant-Governor by a majority of sixteen thousand, notwithstanding the fact that his opponent, a Democrat, received the Greenback vote. He has never solicited official positions. His ambition has been to discharge faithfully all his duties, and to encourage others to do likewise. He has especially desired to educate his children to be valuable citizens, an honor to himself and the country. Few living men have had more hardships to encounter, greater difficulties to overcome, and less encouragement in their struggle with adverse circumstances; but temptation and trouble have not been able to move him from the path of duty, nor to shake his resolution to act well his part.

In 1878 he was renominated in the Republican convention by acclamation and re-elected Lieutenant-Governor for another term of two years. He was an able, impartial, prompt, and faithful presiding officer, secure in the respect and confidence, as well as the kind regard, of everyone associated with him. When free from public duties he has always returned to his home and farm, pleased and contented to plan and execute new improvements and better methods, and while reclaiming waste places, making poor land valuable and productive, has been his only amusement, it has enabled him to enjoy life, to enjoy work, to make his home more healthy and more valuable, and, more than all, to influence others to imitate his example, so far as it is worthy of imitation, whether he is living or dead. Mr. Sessions is now in his seventy-first year, strong and healthy, and daily doing the work of a stout, vigorous man. [Source: "History of Ionia and Montcalm Counties, Michigan, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of their Prominent Men and Pioneers", by John S. Schenck, Philadelphia: D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881]